{{Short description|Dice game}} {{Use dmy dates|date=March 2023}} thumb|A Farkle game in progress; a group of three threes has been set aside, earning 300 points. '''Farkle''', or '''Farkel''', is a family dice game with varying rules. Alternate names and similar games include Dix Mille, Ten Thousand, Cosmic Wimpout, Chicago, Greed, Hot Dice, Volle Lotte, Squelch, Zilch, and Zonk.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" /> A version has been marketed commercially since 1996 under the brand name '''Pocket Farkel''' by Legendary Games Inc.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Shideler |first=Karen |date=2010 |title=Farkel maker finds new home |url=http://www.kansas.com/2010/08/05/1433608/farkel-maker-finds-home-for-operations.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130723201842/http://www.kansas.com/2010/08/05/1433608/farkel-maker-finds-home-for-operations.html |archive-date=23 July 2013 |access-date=5 August 2010 |website=The Wichita Eagle}}</ref><ref name="pocketfarkel">{{Cite web |title=Frequently Asked Questions |url=http://www.pocketfarkel.com/frequentquestions.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110812072301/http://www.pocketfarkel.com/frequentquestions.html |archive-date=12 August 2011 |access-date=24 July 2007 |publisher=Pocket Farkel}}</ref> The game is believed to have arrived to North America on French sailing ships in the 1600s and has been passed down in families as a folk game ever since.<ref name="pocketfarkel" /> As such, while the basic rules are well-established, there is a wide range of variation in scoring and play.<ref name="pocketfarkel" /> The game is played with six dice (five in some variations), along with paper and a pencil or pen for keeping score.<ref name="pocketfarkel" /><ref name=":0" />
== History == According to the official Pocket Farkel game documents, scholars believe the game arrived on French sailing ships in the 1600s and has been passed down in families ever since.<ref name="pocketfarkel" /> The game has also been claimed to originate from Iceland through the purported English nobleman Sir Albert Farkle, who is said to have first played it there in the 1300s or 1400s,<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Courtney |first=David |date=2024-11-15 |title=Did the Dice Game Farkle Originate in Texas? |url=https://www.texasmonthly.com/being-texan/farkle-dice-game-folklore-texas-orig/ |access-date=2024-11-26 |website=Texas Monthly |language=en}}</ref> but this is not considered credible.<ref name="pocketfarkel" /> Another claim is that the game originates in Texas, based on the fact that farkleberries grow there and the game could purportedly be played with dried farkleberries.<ref name=":1" /> However, as a folk game passed down through families, the game has a number of names:<ref name=":1" /> even if the name "Farkle" did come from farkleberries, as one of many names of the game, it could simply have been acquired as the game passed through Texas.
Equipment and instructions to play Farkle dating to the 1700s have been found at Fort Chartres, Illinois.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Arnold |first=Karen South |url=https://archive.org/details/playinggrandmasg0000arno/mode/2up |title=Playing grandma's games |date=2000 |publisher=Ouray, CO : Western Reflections Pub. Co. |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-1-890437-47-3 |pages=29–31}}</ref>
== Play == thumb|College roommates playing Farkle in their dorm Farkle is played by two or more players, with each player in succession having a turn at throwing the dice. Each player's turn results in a score and the scores for each player accumulate until they reach or exceed 10,000,<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Arnold |first=Karen South |url=https://archive.org/details/playinggrandmasg0000arno/mode/2up |title=Playing grandma's games |date=2000 |publisher=Ouray, CO : Western Reflections Pub. Co. |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-1-890437-47-3 |pages=29–31}}</ref> although this number varies.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Rice |first1=Wayne |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cwsPAQAAMAAJ&q=farkle+ |title=Play It!: Over 400 Great Games for Groups |last2=Yaconelli |first2=Mike |date=1986 |publisher=Zondervan |isbn=9780310351917 |page=210 |language=en}}</ref>
*At the beginning of each turn, the player throws all six dice at once.<ref name=":0" /> *After each throw, one or more scoring dice must be set aside (see sections on scoring below).<ref name=":0" /> *The player may then either end their turn and bank the score accumulated so far or continue to throw the remaining dice.<ref name=":0" /> *If the player has scored all six dice, they have "hot dice" and may continue their turn with a new throw of all six dice, adding to the score they have already accumulated.{{Citation needed|date=November 2024}} In some variations, they must reroll the dice.<ref name=":0" /> There is no limit to the number of "hot dice" a player may roll in one turn.<ref name=":0" /> *If none of the dice score in any given throw, the player has "farkled" and all points for that turn are lost.<ref name=":0" /> *Guhlke rule: if none of the dice score on the first roll, the player may re-roll all of them once, then score all available points and end their turn. "You get what you get and you don't throw a fit." *Double Guhlke rule: if the Guhlke roll scores no points, the player may re-roll the dice one final time and score any available points, or 500 if none of the dice score. The player's turn ends at this point, regardless of the outcome. *At the end of the player's turn, the dice are handed to the next player in succession (usually in clockwise rotation, viewing the table from above), and they have their turn.<ref name=":0" />
Once a player has achieved a winning point total, each other player has one last turn to score enough points to surpass that score.<ref name=":0" />
=== Standard scoring === As a base of comparison, the base scoring rules listed in ''Playing Grandma's Games'' by Arnold are given below.<ref name=":0" />
{| class="wikitable" ! Dice combination ! Dice ! Score |- |align="center"|Each one||{{die|1}}||align="center"|100 |- |align="center"|Each five||{{die|5}}||align="center"|50 |- |align="center"|Three ones||{{die|1|1|1}}||align="center"|1000 |- |align="center"|Three twos||{{die|2|2|2}}||align="center"|200 |- |align="center"|Three threes||{{die|3|3|3}}||align="center"|300 |- |align="center"|Three fours||{{die|4|4|4}}||align="center"|400 |- |align="center"|Three fives||{{die|5|5|5}}||align="center"|500 |- |align="center"|Three sixes||{{die|6|6|6}}||align="center"|600 |- |align="center"|Four of a kind||{{die|4|4|4|4}}||align="center"|1000 |- |align="center"|Five of a kind||{{die|5|5|5|5|5}}||align="center"|2000 |- |align="center"|Six of a kind||{{die|6|6|6|6|6|6}}||align="center"|3000 |- |align="center"|Three pair||{{die|1|1|2|2|3|3}}||align="center"|1500 |- |align="center"|Run||{{die|1|2|3|4|5|6}}||align="center"|2500 |}<ref>https://cardgames.io/farkle/</ref>
==== Scoring example ==== For example, if a player throws a combination of one, two, three, three, three, and five, they could do any of the following:
*score three threes as 300 and then throw the remaining three dice *score the single one as 100 and then throw the remaining five dice *score the single five as 50 and then throw the remaining five dice *score three threes, the single one, and the single five for a total of 450 and then throw the remaining die *score three threes, the single one, and the single five for a total of 450 and stop, banking 450 points in that turn
This is not an exhaustive list of plays based on that throw, but it covers the most likely ones. If the player continues throwing, as in any of the above cases except the last, they risk farkling and thus losing all accumulated points. On the other hand, if they score five dice and have only one die to throw, they have a 1 in 3 chance of scoring a single one or a single five, and then having scored all six dice they will have "hot dice" and can throw all six dice again to further increase their score.
Each scoring combination must be achieved in a single throw.<ref name=":0" /> For example, if a player has already set aside two individual fives and then throws a third with the four dice remaining, they do not have a triplet of fives for a score of 500 but merely three individual ones for a score of 150.
=== Scoring variations === Since farkle is a folk game, variant rules are used in different playing communities.<ref name="pocketfarkel" /> For example, the commercially marketed game of Pocket Farkel differs in that three ones are scored as 300 rather than 1000.<ref name="pocketfarkel" /> In addition, some players score one or more combinations of dice beyond the standard ones.{{Citation needed|date=December 2024}} Those variations include the following.
*Rolling no scoring dice with six die (such as two, two, three, four, six, and six) is scored as 500.<ref name=":2" /> *Three pairs (such as one, one, four, four, six, and six) may be scored as 750, 1500, or 2000.<ref name=":2" /> *Two three-of-a-kinds may be scored as 2500 or 3000.<ref name=":2" /> *A straight (one, two, three, four, five, and six) may be scored as 1000, 1500, or 3000.<ref name=":2" /> *A ''short straight'' (a one, two, three, four, and five, or a two, three, four, five, and six) is scored as 500.{{Citation needed|date=December 2024}} *A full house (three-of-a-kind and a pair) is scored as the three-of-a-kind value plus 250, for instance a four, four, four, three, and three scores 650, and a one, one, one, three, and three scores 1250. *Four-of-a-kind and a pair may be scored as 1500.<ref name=":2" /> *Four, five, and six of a kind are scored in one of three ways: adding, doubling, or set value: **Adding: For each additional matching die above three of a kind, the three of a kind score is added. For example, three twos, four twos, five twos and six twos are worth 200, 400, 600 and 800 respectively.{{Citation needed|date=December 2024}} **Doubling: For each additional matching die above three of a kind, the score is doubled. For example, three ones, four ones, five ones and six ones are worth 1000, 2000, 4000 and 8000 respectively.<ref name=":0" /> **Set value: Four of a kind may be scored as 1000 or 2000, five of a kind may be scored as 2000 or 4000, and six of a kind may be scored as 3000, 6000 or 10000.{{Citation needed|date=December 2024}}
=== Play variations === Some Farkle rules also incorporate one or more of the following variations in the sequence of play.
*Players may be required to achieve a certain threshold score in their opening turn or turns before they can bank points for the first time, for example 500 or 1000 points.<ref name=":2" /> After having reached the threshold once, they are free to stop throwing in subsequent turns whenever they choose.<ref name=":2" /> *In some variations it may be possible for opposing players to steal the turn total of points from a player who has farkled.<ref name=":2" /> *Four or more twos, a "disaster roll" may cause all banked points to be lost.<ref name=":2" /> *Six-of-a-kind may cause an immediate win.<ref name=":2" /> *Players may be required to achieve a certain threshold score every turn before they can bank their points, for example 300 or 350 points.<ref name=":2" /> *In some variations, all scoring groups of dice rolled must be set aside rather than being rerolled if possible.<ref name=":2" /> *In a variant described as "piggybacking" or "high-stakes", each player after the first can choose to begin their turn either with a fresh set of six dice, or by throwing the dice remaining after the previous player has completed their turn. For example, if a player banks three ones for a score of 1000, the next player may choose to roll the remaining three dice. If they score at least one die, they score 1000 plus whatever additional score they accumulate. Players may thus assume the greater risk of farkling for the chance of scoring the points already accumulated by the player before them. If a player ends their turn on a "hot dice", the next player may "piggyback" using all six dice.{{Citation needed|date=December 2024}} *Another variation is using five dice instead of six.<ref name=":1" /> This is sometimes called "Hot Dice" today;<ref name=":1" /> the original version of Farkle was also played with five dice.<ref name="pocketfarkel" /> In this version, players cannot score three pairs, and this variation often couples an "instant" win option, where on the first roll of the five dice on any turn, if the player rolls five of a kind, that player instantly wins the game, regardless of the scores to that point.{{Citation needed|date=November 2024}} *Players may be required to make at least one additional throw when they have hot dice, even if they have accumulated a high enough score that they would choose not to risk farkling.<ref name=":0" /> *Penalties for repeated farkles, for example deduction of 500 points for three farkles in a row.<ref name=":2" /> *An end-of-game variation described as "welfare" requires the winner to score exactly 10,000 points. If a player scores more than 10,000 points, then all points scored in that turn are given to the player with the lowest score. *A regional variation of Farkle is known to be played in Rzeszów, Poland. In this version, players may only record a score once they reach a minimum of 1,000 points in a single turn. Rolls with lower totals are considered incomplete and require the player to continue rolling. Additionally, a special combination known as a “streak” awards 1,000 points. A “streak” occurs when the player rolls all six dice and each die shows a different number from one to six (i.e., a straight). This local variation was reportedly used during unofficial Farkle tournaments in the region and is passed on informally among players.
== Strategy == An optimal strategy for winning a game of Farkle, based on one set of rules, has been determined.<ref name=":2">Busche, M., Neller, T.W. (2017). Optimal Play of the Farkle Dice Game. In: Winands, M., van den Herik, H., Kosters, W. (eds) Advances in Computer Games. ACG 2017. Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 10664. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71649-7_6</ref>
A simplified version of Farkle, in which only single ones and fives score points (groups of three don't exist) can be used productively in statistics education, specifically in AP Statistics.<ref name=":3">{{Cite journal |last=Hooley |first=Donald E. |date=2014 |title=Farkle Fundamentals and Fun |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5951/mathteacher.107.6.0458 |journal=The Mathematics Teacher |volume=107 |issue=6 |pages=458–464 |doi=10.5951/mathteacher.107.6.0458 |jstor=10.5951/mathteacher.107.6.0458 |issn=0025-5769|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Students can use expected values to determine better strategies for the game.<ref name=":3" />
== Video game versions == A video game implementation of Farkle can be found in the popular RPG Kingdom Come: Deliverance as "Farkle",<ref>{{Cite web |last=Staff |first=AOTF |date=2018-02-13 |title=Kingdom Come: Deliverance How to Win at Dice Gambling |url=https://attackofthefanboy.com/games/kingdom-come-deliverance-how-to-win-at-dice-gambling/ |access-date=2025-02-09 |website=Attack of the Fanboy |language=en-US}}</ref> and in its sequel Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 as "Dice".<ref name=":4">{{Cite news |last=Toms |first=Ollie |date=2025-02-04 |title=Kingdom Come Deliverance 2: How to play Dice and win |url=https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/kingdom-come-deliverance-2-how-to-play-dice |access-date=2025-02-09 |work=Rock, Paper, Shotgun |language=en}}</ref> The version in the game's sequel includes weighted dice of various kinds,<ref name=":4" /> as does the version in the first game.{{Citation needed|date=May 2025}}
In 2020, a video game version of Farkle was announced as one of the six games included with the Intellivision Amico console.<ref name="6free">{{Cite web |title=Intellivision Amico Pack-in announcement | date=27 March 2020 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nh6NSLwmamQ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/Nh6NSLwmamQ |archive-date=21 December 2021 |access-date=29 March 2020 |publisher=Intellivision Entertainment}}{{cbignore}}</ref> As the console has faced numerous delays, this version remains unreleased.{{Citation needed|date=December 2024}}
== Related games == * Kismet (dice game) * Yahtzee
== References == {{reflist}}
{{Dice games}}
Category:Dice games Category:Drinking games